Revealing Beauty: Plastic Surgeon Works to Bring Out Inner Beauty

Dr. Michael Clinton, shown here with a patient, graduated from Vanderbilt University with a degree in biomedical engineering before going on to serve as an officer in the U.S. Navy. He delayed medical school while in service but eventually attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine.

By Ana Good

Local plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Clinton has a passion for bringing one’s inner beauty to the surface.

“It is truly what I believe,” Clinton said. “Each of us has a uniquely wonderful inner beauty. What we do is help people see it when they look in the mirror.” 

That belief is mirrored both in the name of his practice – Reveal Beauty Plastic Surgery Center – as well as in its tagline: “Revealing beauty, not creating it.”

Clinton said that during his 30 years in private cosmetic surgery practice, he has often compared his services to the luxury of gravy. 

“You don’t necessarily need the gravy on the potatoes,” he said, “but it can make them even more delicious. It was God who created your beauty. We are just enhancing it.” 

Located in Vestavia Hills, Reveal Beauty offers a wide assortment of cosmetic surgery procedures, including breast augmentations and reductions, liposuction, brow lifts, face lifts and rhinoplasty. The practice also offers several non-surgical procedures, including laser skin rejuvenation, peels, facials and injections. 

Clinton said the idea of becoming a plastic surgeon likely wouldn’t have even made the list of possibilities in his younger years.

Clinton grew up in Huntsville, watching as his father helped put a man on the moon.

“My father was an actual rocket scientist,” he said.

His upbringing helped shape his foundation, which prominently featured a math and science background. He graduated from Vanderbilt University with a degree in biomedical engineering before going on to serve as an officer in the U.S. Navy. He delayed medical school while in service but eventually attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine. 

After medical school, Clinton received five years of general surgery training. It was during this time, he said, that he found his love for restoration procedures following trauma or cancer surgeries. 

“I enjoy putting things back together more than I enjoy taking things apart,” he said. 

The requirements of plastic surgery, he said, especially the kind that involves reconstruction, complements his early interests and passions. 

Clinton said he is classically trained, meaning he received extensive general surgery training before also receiving three years of specialty surgery training from Duke University before opening his first private practice in 1990.

More Gain, Less Pain

Asked if he has noticed any overall plastic surgery trends in recent years, Clinton said he “absolutely” has. 

“They are wanting the moon,” he said, “but with no recovery time or risk.”

Patients these days are still expecting big changes, he went on to explain, and expect that technology has made it such that they don’t need to undergo surgery to achieve those results. Some of that is possible thanks to advances in procedures such as laser technology – to an extent. Clinton is, according to his website, nationally recognized for his expertise in laser procedures and is regarded “as one of the most qualified laser surgeons to teach numerous courses in cosmetic laser surgery for other physicians.” 

Still, Clinton said that although non-invasive technology has improved, some changes still require surgery. 

Even then, however, he remains cautious in his approach. No matter what the procedure is, he said, there should be minimal risk involved when it comes to cosmetic procedures. 

Clinton said today he is also seeing younger and younger clients “looking to get ahead of the wave,” stave off sun damage and make changes they can’t achieve on their own. 

Many are taking better care of themselves overall, he said, taking reasonable and committed steps to watch their diet and incorporate exercise into their daily lives. 

“But” he said, “some things won’t change with diet and exercise alone.” 

For example, moms who have had multiple children come to his practice seeking “Mommy Makeover” procedures to improve their tummies or breasts following natural changes that come along with pregnancy and childbirth, he said. 

In terms of what he sees women asking for on the local level, Clinton said he believes women in the South generally better mind their overall appearance throughout their lifetimes as compared to other areas of the country. In the South, women typically seek treatments for sun damage, facial procedures and overall skin improvement, he said. 

Southern women seeking breast augmentations typically request mid-size enhancements, he said, unlike the more “athletic” size requests surgeons typically see in the Northeast.

No matter where one is in the country, Clinton said, anyone considering plastic surgery needs to first do their homework. He encourages people to carefully use the internet to research the procedures they are interested in as well as to find a reliable doctor. 

From there, he said people should also talk to cosmetic surgery clients of similar age about the procedures, recovery time and results. While interviewing a surgeon, Clinton said it’s important to ask the surgeon how often they typically perform the specific procedures of interest.

“Not all surgeons do everything often,” he said. “If they are offended by that question or try to dodge it, I’d encourage you to quietly look for someone else.”

Above all else, Clinton said it is important to find a board-certified plastic surgeon and not settle for anything less. 

“You must have confidence in your surgeon,” he stressed.

Seeking Balance

In terms of what is next for him, Clinton said that is a question he fields often these days.

“Any time I have a conversation with someone I know, one of the very first things they ask is, ‘Are you still working?’” he said with a laugh.

Turning 70 at his next birthday, Clinton said it would be foolish to say he hasn’t thought about retiring. Standing over an operating table for six to eight hours a day is much more taxing on his body today than it was when he was in his 30s, he said. But, he said, he finds himself happier and enjoying what he does now more than ever before.

Clinton said he has started taking a step back, seeking more balance and being more selective on what procedures he will personally do based on how physically taxing they will be on his own neck and back. 

As the patients he has been seeing for years age alongside him, they’re requesting less taxing procedures such as facelifts or eyelifts, for example. That has allowed him to make changes in the procedures he takes on more organically. He has also hired an associate at the practice, dual board-certified Dr. Ben Pearce, who he said he eventually hopes to become the practice’s primary surgeon. 

For now, however, Clinton plans to remain exactly where he is.

“It’s still sometimes hard to believe all that God has allowed me to do,” he said.